Pandemics in Chicago-- Part 3: Cholera and Fort Dearborn

Continued from April 21, 2020.  Before I got on the 1918 Influenza Pandemic in Butler County, Pennsylvania.  You can catch up on the first two posts by clicking on the label Chicago below this entry.

Adam Selzer is quite knowledgeable about Chicago's history and its epidemics and pandemics.  He leads guided tours of cemeteries including one of the bigger ones called Graceland.

One of the epidemics that plagues Chicago in the 1800s was that of cholera.  Multiple outbreaks took place in the city in the 19th century.  He says the first major epidemic took place in 1832 (Chicago became a city in 1837).

It was brought in on a ship by Gen. Winfield Scott who arrived in town by ship with soldiers from the Black Hawk War. Dozens died as they occupied the old Fort Dearborn and Scott later said that the disease scared him more than any enemy because there was no way to fight it; he couldn't fortify his walls against it or even offer terms of surrender.

Fort Dearborn was the site of the infamous Fort Dearborn Massacre in the War of 1812.

--Cooter

America's Long Line of Presidential Military Heroes-- Part 2: Jackson and Tippecanoe Too

Military heroism helped a number of presidents win office.  Andrew Jackson, the first president born in a log cabin, gained fame for his victory over the British at the Battle of New Orleans.  William Henry Harrison was so linked to a particular battle that it could serve as his name --  his 1840 campaign slogan was  "Tippecanoe and Tyler Too" referring to the 1811 battle against a confederation of Indians at the confluence of the Tippecanoe and Wabash rivers in Indiana.

Many presidents not generally remembered as soldiers, in fact did serve.  Abraham Lincoln was an Illinois militia captain during the Black Hawk War.

And sometimes "service" is a broad term -- seven presidents claimed to have fought in the Civil War, though that includes Andrew Johnson, who was military governor of Tennessee  in 1862.

--CootPres

I Sure Got My History Last Week-- Part 2: The Civil War's U.S. Grant

Of course, being in Galena, which bills itself as "The Town That History Forgot" there is history dating to the lead boom which brought the people and even the Black Hawk War.

But, probably Galena's best-known citizen was one who went by the name U.S. Grant.  He was in town when the Civil War started and thanks to the help of one of the townspeople, got back into the U.S. military as a colonel and then, the rest is well-known history.

On Sunday, August 26, I went to his house where an Illinois Bicentennial event was going on.  The general and I had a discussion about the number of stars on his uniform and what one, two, three and four stars stood for.  An enlisted man was also there talking to folks about how they went about their war business.  Another man was playing a guitar and harmonica and singing songs of the era.

--Cooter

Did Lincoln Meet Jefferson Davis in DeKalb County (Illinois) in 1832?-- Part 2

To be mustered out, Lincoln (who had re-enlisted for a total of 51 days) and his men marched to Ottawa and in so doing crossed the southern part of DeKalb County.

They camped one night at Paw Paw Grove, following the route that is now the Chicago-Dixon Road, until it intersected with what was known as the North South Indian  Trail leading to Ottawa.

Abraham Lincoln did not meet future president Zachary Taylor or Jefferson Davis at the former county seat of DeKalb County, Coltonville.

Davis was back in Mississippi on leave and Taylor was at his headquarters at Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin.  And, Lincoln was in another part of Illinois at the time.

So Didn't Happen.  --Cooter

Did Lincoln Meet Jefferson Davis in DeKalb County-- Part 1: Black Hawk War

From the May 14, 2008, DeKalb County Life "Did Abe Lincoln ever set foot in DeKalb County?"  by Barry Schrader.

In my June 18 post, I mentioned that DeKalb County, Illinois, was going to put up a marker where Abraham Lincoln met future president of the Confederacy, Jefferson Davis, in DeKalb County during the Black Hawk War.

The answer to the article's title is yes.  Whether he met Jefferson Davis is not likely.

Abraham Lincoln was living in New Salem, Illinois, when he answered the call for volunteers to chase after Sauk Indian Chief Black Hawks band of braves during the Black Hawk War of 1832.  He mustered in for 30 days service in Beardstown then marched to Rock Island.

There, he was mustered into service as part of the Illinois Militia on May 9, 1832.  Then, he moved to Dixon, Illinois, where he was named captain of a company.

From there, his company went to Stillman Valley to bury the dead from the ill-fated Battle of Stillman's Run.

--Cooter